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NCAA and Golf Channel gear up for Division I Men’s Golf Championship coverage; women’s coverage to follow in 2015

May 22, 2014 4:51pm

The NCAA and Golf Channel are preparing for unprecedented broadcast coverage of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships which will provide fans a closer look at team and individual accomplishments and open the championship to a wider national viewership.

Golf Channel will dedicate its full suite of production resources to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships, featuring nine hours of live tournament coverage from Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. In addition, Golf Central will originate on-location with 11 hours of pre-and post-event news coverage, as well as daily news updates on Morning Drive and online at GolfChannel.com.

Hosted by Wichita State University, the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships will feature the top collegiate golfers in America and the game’s future stars. Featuring a new tournament format, 30 teams and six student-athletes – who advanced from NCAA Regional Qualifying – will compete in an individual stroke-play format over 54 holes (Friday-Sunday, May 23-25). Golf Channel’s live coverage (5-8 p.m. ET) will begin on Monday, May 26, when the top 40 individuals and ties will compete in the fourth and final stroke-play round to determine the individual national champion. On Tuesday, May 27 (quarterfinals and semi-finals) and Wednesday, May 28 (finals), the low eight teams from the 54-hole qualifying will compete in match play competition to determine the team national champion, with Golf Channel providing live coverage from 5 to 8 p.m. ET.

“Our partnership with the NCAA will bring the great drama of the collegiate game to our viewers through not only our coverage of the NCAA Golf Championships, but our commitment to cover college golf throughout the year,” said Molly Solomon, executive producer of Golf Channel. “We look forward to introducing to our viewers the future stars of the game and tapping into the passionate fan bases of their respective schools.”

Golf Channel will have a wide range of history for coverage discussion. This year marks the 76th year of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. The first NCAA men’s golf championships were held in 1939, though a collegiate men’s golf championship has been held since 1897 (115th year). Yale University has won the most NCAA team championships with a total of 21, and the school claims the most individual championship honors with 13. Oklahoma State University has been in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships the most times with 67 appearances.

The University of Alabama has advanced to play in the finals at Prairie Dunes and is the defending team national champion. The Crimson Tide defeated Illinois, 4-1 in the final round of match play in 2013. Max Homa of the University of California, Berkeley was the NCAA individual champion a year ago with a three-round total of 201.

“Fans of the sport will now be able to see for themselves what makes this championship so special,” said Mike Carter, chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee and director of athletics at Oral Roberts University. “Partnering with Golf Channel made perfect sense for our championship and we appreciate their commitment in helping to grow the sport. You can feel the sense of excitement from our student-athletes and teams as they strive to participate in this championship experience.”

Next year, Golf Channel will add the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships to its coverage lineup. The 2015 Women’s Golf Championships will mark the first time since 2005 that the championship will air on live television. Both the Women’s (May 22-27) and Men’s Championships (May 29-June 3) will be played at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. next year, with the University of South Florida serving as host.

Individuals can also get golf information at #ncaaGolf and www.ncaa.com.

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 460,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.NCAA.org and www.NCAA.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.

About Golf Channel

Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. Golf Channel, co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 and now part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes and 83 countries worldwide. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, as well as a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s highest-quality news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platforms, led by GolfChannel.com, are the leading golf destinations on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that connect the world to golf. Fans are able to enjoy 24/7 live streaming of Golf Channel content through GolfChannel.com and Golf Channel’s mobile application, Golf Live Extra. Golf Channel programming also is available via SiriusXM’s PGA TOUR Radio.